


Endorphins

by Belsmomaus



Series: Straight answers without cussing [1]
Category: The Orville (TV)
Genre: But only a tiny bit, F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Pre-Series, Sexy Times, they're still happily married
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-25
Updated: 2018-10-25
Packaged: 2019-08-07 10:54:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16407113
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Belsmomaus/pseuds/Belsmomaus
Summary: Being married to a Union officer isn't always easy. Being one themself as well, doesn't exactly uncomplicate things.Their schedules don't leave Kelly and Ed a lot of time together, which is why Kelly is determined to make the most of the time they have together.So when Ed comes home after a four week mission and they only have a day before Kelly has to leave again, she already has lots of ideas in mind. She didn't plan for Ed being in pain, though.Lucky for her, adapting to new situations is what she excels at.That, and handling Ed when he's being... well... Ed.





	Endorphins

 

“Do you really have to go, sweetie?”

It was a tough call not to roll her eyes, but Kelly managed. Barely. “Nana, I already told you-”

“But you’ll miss Aidan’s wedding! He’s your brother, Kelly! Shouldn’t they give you a day off for that?”

“A day off won’t cut it, Nana. I’m lightyears away, I can’t just come back for a day. I’m sorry I won’t be seeing you, but mediating these trade talks between two Union contenders who’ve been at war with one another until recently? That’s my chance to prove myself out there. This is important to me.” With her hand over her heart and wide, honest eyes she gave her best to get her message across.

The white haired woman on the screen smacked her lips in that disapproving, yet resigning way that told Kelly more than anything else that her grandmother at least tried to understand.

“Your mother will be heartbroken.”

Kelly doubted that, her mother had more than enough experience with people prioritizing their job, seeing as she’d been married to a Union officer almost her whole life.

“And your brother-”

“Will probably be relieved, since I told him to his face at least three times already that his wife to be is a total bitch.”

The gentle face of her grandmother was gone, replaced by pinched lips and a stern expression. “Kelly Grayson...”

And although Kelly knew what was coming – and although she knew perfectly well that she was right and that woman _was_ a bitch – that reprimanding tone still managed to make her feel bad on some level.

The soft noise of a docking aircraft reached her ears, closely followed by the hissing sound of the door and a very much awaited set of footsteps. She couldn’t help the smile that spread her lips in an instant; couldn’t help the joy and anticipation bubbling in her stomach as if she were a lovestruck teenager. And she couldn’t help her ever present impatience flaring up at being held up, although it hadn’t been her grandmother who had initiated the call.

She couldn’t help it.

And she didn’t want to either.

In fact she hoped this would never stop. She wanted to keep this feeling, this joy and happiness at seeing Ed after being apart for weeks. It had told her back then at their early Union Point days that he was the man she wanted to spend her life with. It was still there today, one year into their marriage – less overwhelming and giddy but just as cherished. Hopefully it would still be there ten, twenty, thirty years from now.

“Sorry Nana, I really have to go,” she interrupted her grandmother, not really sorry since she’d already stopped listening to her lecture on manners right after “Kelly Grayson”. Or maybe a bit sorry. “Ed’s home and we only have this one day before I have to leave again. I call you when I’m back. Love you.”

With an apologetic smile she cut the connection, the sound of her grandmother smacking her lips in dismay as well as fond resignation following her as she left the room.

“Kelly? You there?” Ed’s voice sounded through their flat. Of course they’d talked over the com these last weeks that Ed had spent on a scientific mission to explore an uninhabited planet, but for the first time in a month his voice didn’t come out of a speaker. He was really here.

She only wished she didn’t have to leave tomorrow night. As much as she’d longed for this mission to prove herself, sometimes she hated the way their careers kept them apart.

“I’m here,” she said as she finally stepped into their living room.

And there he was, still in his uniform, his dark hair in just enough disarray as to not go against regulations and that sparkle in his eyes that was only reserved for her. Forgotten was the bag that he’d placed on the floor next to the couch; forgotten was the act of getting out of his uniform and he left the blue jacket halfway unzipped. Instead a big grin lit up his whole face.

“Kel!”

“Hey Ed.”

She closed the distance between them with just a few quick steps and before she knew it his arms were around her and their lips met for a long overdue kiss. Before long though, he pulled back, his hands framing her face. For a second he just looked at her, the gaze of his dark brown eyes so reverent it bordered on silly and yet… the butterflies in her stomach didn’t think so at all.

“God, I missed you!” And with that heartfelt admission he pulled her back into a fierce hug, one that she returned with equal fervor.

Had he always smelled this good?

“I missed you, too, Ed.”

Having him finally back for real, right here in her arms, she wanted more of that. Her plans of a cozy meal for two started to evaporate as her hands trailed across his back, so solid and real and _there_. And he really smelled amazing. Spicy, but subtle.

This time she pulled back, slowly, so she could inhale again as her nose trailed along his neck.

“Are you hungry?”

For a second Ed blinked, clearly confused. His thoughts had probably been somewhere else as well. “Um, no, not re-”

“Good!”

She grinned, sealed his lips with another kiss and without preamble jumped up and wrapped her legs around his middle and her arms around his neck, never quite losing the contact with his lips. She had perfected this move over the years, seeing as the very first time she’d tried it on an overeager whim had nearly knocked them both out as their heads had bumped against each other pretty hard, which had left them in a laughing fit after the first pain had been gone. But it had also spurred on this crazy need in both of them to get this done right.

Surprise aside, Ed caught her on instinct, his strong arms closing around her butt. But she didn’t get the hungry kiss she’d aimed for.

He groaned, breaking the kiss in the process. He tumbled an unsteady step backwards, his grip on her slipping. Next thing they fell back onto the couch with him hissing and groaning.

“Aah, fuck!”

Completely taken off-guard – and worried – she pulled back and climbed off of him in one fluid motion, so that she knelt right next to him on the couch. His face was one grimace of pain.

“Ed? What’s wrong?”

“It’s my back.” He sat up with a wince and pulled his shoulders back as if to stretch, which only made him wince harder. “Ouch! Dammit!” He started rubbing and kneading his neck with one hand. “Neck hurts like a bitch as well. It’s all Stevenson’s fault. It’s like he’s trying to punish me for something. That pain in the ass stickler had me checking the sensors practically nonstop for days. Day in, day out crouching over that goddamn console. I feel like the freaking hunchback of Notre Dame.” He hissed again as he hit another tender spot with his fingers before he gave up and sank back against the couch, flinching and looking absolutely miserable.

Not exactly how Kelly had pictured their reunion.

And yet, seeing him like this, wincing with every move and complaining, she couldn’t help but laugh. Right now, in this very moment, he reminded her so much of his father, she _had_ to laugh instead of taking this as the glimpse into their very likely future that it was. Ed would _hate_ that comparison, which only made her grin wider. “Seriously? What are you? 32 or 82?”

His brow furrowed as an equally hurt and offended expression settled on his face. “Is that a way to treat a guy when he’s already down?”

She rolled her eyes at him. “Come on, you’re just a bit sore. Stevenson’s a dick, yes, but you’re not dying from a few days of crouching.”

Ed huffed, then looked away. “I need a drink.”

She put a hand flat on his chest as he was about to get up. Their time together was too precious to waste it on a sulking Ed. Or a drunk Ed, which would probably happen if she let him go right now. They could get wasted together, just like old times, but they only had tomorrow before she had to leave and she wasn’t willing to spend that one day with a hangover.

No, she wanted to laugh with him, wanted to enjoy their time together. She wanted to chat, stroll through the sun holding hands, feed him with strawberries on a blanket somewhere in the countryside. And she wanted him naked, in their bed, wanted to feel his skin against hers, hear that cute little moan he made when she dipped her tongue into his belly button.

“What?”

She got up and faced him. “I have a better idea.”

She reached down, closed his hands in hers and pulled him up, slowly. He only winced a little bit. As he stood in front of her she let go of his hands only to trail them along his arms, higher and higher, over his shoulders until they framed his beautiful face. His cheeks felt a bit rough, his last shave most likely this morning. She liked it. Watching him intently, just like he had done with her before, she leaned closer and met his lips for a kiss. Slow and intimate. Gentle, but full of promises. His eyes closed in an instant. Just as a low moan began to vibrate through his jaw she stopped, licking her lips the moment his eyes opened again.

“Why don’t you take a hot shower to melt the hunchback away and I-” she paused and stroked her fingers through his hair as if to push an errant strand back behind his ear. Then she winked and put on her especially cheeky grin. “You’ll see.”

And there was the Ed she loved so much. Handsome and focused, living only in the moment. His eyes sparkled with that inner fire of his, that drive that could move mountains if he wanted to, and he smiled.

“I like the sound of that!”

 

***

 

 

Quick-thinking and fast to adapt to new situations; that’s what almost every report from her teachers and superiors had said about her so far. Not for nothing.

Changing her plans to fit her sometimes annoying but mostly adorable hunchback had been easy and with Ed in the shower now she had more than enough time to prepare. The sheets pulled back and the bottle of oil ready on the nightstand she lounged on the bed, only dressed in blue lace lingerie. She’d originally bought the set –a delicate lace bra and matching Brazilian panties – for Ed’s birthday next October, knowing how much he loved her in lace. Or in a blue that matched her eyes. But hey, she didn’t even know if she’d be able to see him on his birthday, so why not use it now?

The bathroom door opened and together with a cloud of steam Ed emerged, his hair still damp and utterly unruly – the way she liked it best – only dressed in a black towel wrapped around his waist. He stopped abruptly. His eyes grew big like saucers and his mouth dropped open before he licked his lips and finally managed an excited grin.

“Now that’s a sight for sore eyes!”

The lingerie definitely hit the mark.

She got up, his eyes following her every move, just as enamored as the first time he’d seen her like this all those years ago.

“You’re absolutely gorgeous, Kel!” He almost sounded a bit breathless already.

She smirked. “You’re not so bad yourself.”

He pulled a face and huffed, before he mumbled, his arms crossed in front of his chest now: “Not so bad. _Not so bad_. Well, _that’s_ a compliment.”

Unfazed by his antics, although a bit dismayed since his posture cut her out of the opportunity to drink in every inch of his naked chest, she headed towards him, then started on a circle around him. She touched his right upper arm in a soft caress and as she stepped further around him she let her index and middle finger trail across his skin. Along his arm and over his shoulder. Across the wide planes of his back, from his right shoulder down to the left side of his waist until she almost – _almost_ – touched the towel. And since she couldn’t reach his chest and tickle his chest hair with the barest hint of a touch or accidentally brush one of his nipples – totally deliberate of course – she traced the skin of his belly until she stood in front of him and her finger stopped right on the edge of his belly button, ready to dip in any moment.

He’s watching her closely, trying for an unfazed expression, but failing. Anyway, the subtle shivers of his body and the tension in every muscle gave him away easily. His breath, already a bit faster than usual, hitched as her fingers left his belly. With one nimble move she pulled the towel off of him and let it fall to the ground. She took half a step back and let her eyes roam, taking in his pale legs, the dark line of his happy trail and the sure proof of his interest in this whole proceedings.

She took another step until she was at his side again and leaned close, a mischievous grin on her lips. “That’s _much_ better.” And right on cue her hand slapped against his ass. Not hard, just enough to surprise him, and to take a quick grab of that deliciously rounded globe.

He jumped in surprise.

“Go on! Lie down!”

Ed turned towards her, grinning as well. “Mmh, bossy. I kinda like it!”

He did as he was told. He even made sure to present all his body’s assets to her as he strolled over to the bed, before he lay down, his back against the head rest, eyeing her with a lascivious wiggling of his eyebrow. She chuckled. It looked ridiculous. And yet she couldn’t deny that it actually worked on her.

It was the laughing. He had always known how to make her laugh, no matter in what situation, no matter if appropriate or not.

She followed him onto the bed and knelt beside him, still chuckling. She bent over him, kissing him eagerly, but pulled back the moment he was about to pull her down towards him. Instead she made a turning motion with her hand.

“You know, I actually meant the other way around? On your belly?”

“Huh?” With a curiously raised eyebrow he skidded downward and then flopped over onto his front, his upper body propped up on his elbows.

Kelly leaned back, grabbed the oil on the nightstand and poured a generous amount onto her hands. Ed’s eyes followed her every move as she slicked up her hands, careful not to drip too much of it onto the sheets. His eyebrows drew closer and closer together. He couldn’t keep the tentativeness out of his voice.

“We haven’t seen each other for a month, honey. Don’t you think something a bit more… um… vanilla would do for starters?”

She really, _really_ tried not to laugh. She failed. “Ed,” she started, still grinning and showing off her slick palms, “it’s for a massage.”

“Oh.” An adorable blush crept up his cheeks as his eyes went wide, right before he started laughing as well. The typical laugh of an embarrassing moment, half relieved, half ashamed. “I got rusty in this, haven’t I? How can you get rusty at sex in just a month?”

“Don’t be silly. You’re not rusty. And I’m sure you’ll prove it. But I need you to be able to move properly for what I have in mind. I need my 32 year old husband, Ed, not the 82 year old creaky guy. Understood?”

“Who would say no to a massage from a gorgeous woman?”

And so she got started. Straddling his hips he finally lay back down, his arms at his side. She spread the oil across his back with some slow strokes, more caress than massage. The faint smell of vanilla tickled her nose. As soon as his whole back and shoulders were covered with a thin film of massage oil she dug in a little bit deeper to get a feeling for what she was working with.

He was really tense, his whole back along his spine, but it got worse the farther up she got. The area over his shoulder blades and up his neck were the worst: tense and riddled with knots. She wasn’t surprised that he was in pain.

Now that she knew where the problem was, she pushed in a little bit harder in long strokes from right between his shoulder blades diagonally up towards his shoulder. The second she hit the first knot he flinched away from her touch.

“ _Ow_! Shit, do you want to cripple me?”

“Don’t be such a baby! Just try to relax, it’ll get better after a while.”

“If you say so...”

Still, she used less pressure for a few minutes, trying a gentler approach to coax the tension out of his muscles. But at some point she had to dig deeper if she wanted to have a chance at loosening up those persistent knots.

“Holy shit!”

She stopped.

“No, it’s alright. Go on.” It sounded as if he’d pressed it out between gritted teeth.

Kelly went on, working methodically across his back and neck, never staying too long at the same spot to give him time to relax in between. It was nice, feeling his warm skin underneath her fingers, the rippling of suddenly tensing muscles under her fingertips whenever she hit an especially sensitive spot. Or it would have been, but even after twenty minutes he didn’t seem able to relax. He still flinched, still hissed, still mumbled occasional curses into the pillow and slowly but surely she started to worry. Was she making it worse? She certainly didn’t make it better.

She had wanted to help him wind down and relax, but instead of turning to pliable jelly as she’d hoped he was still tense.

As he flinched yet again, she finally stopped.

“Maybe you should’ve seen a doctor if it’s that bad,” she mused, her warm hands still resting against his back, but not moving for the moment.

Ed turned his head as far as he could, trying to get a glimpse of her out of the corner of his eyes. “Do you know the _Endeavor’s_ doctor? Dr. Joergensen?” he asked, not awaiting an answer, but yeah, she’d had the ‘pleasure’ of meeting him before. “He’s a butcher!”

That assessment wasn’t too far off. “Still, he might have given you a muscle relaxant. Or at least something for the pain?”

He snorted. “For him to give you the good stuff you need to be short at least a limb, preferably worse.”

She gave a quick shrug – more to herself – at the surprising accuracy of that statement. But that wasn’t helping right now. Maybe…

“I think I saw some painkillers earlier,” she mused. She remembered seeing a box of pills earlier when she’d packed her stuff for her mission. They hadn’t much medication at home with them spending most of their time at different Union facilities or ships that all came with their own medical personnel. She climbed off of him and was halfway out of the bed already when his fingers closed around her wrist.

“Wait! Don’t leave!”

“I’m just looking for those pills.”

“It’s fine. Really.”

Unconvinced, she gave him her skeptical look. “Doesn’t _seem_ fine.” She sighed. “I don’t like seeing you in pain.”

“I know. But it’s really not that bad. And I’d rather be with you right now than have you roaming the flat for a tiny bottle that is most likely in the least likely place – as always – and therefore takes ages to find. And anyway-” That pleading expression on his face, all honesty and open need, morphed into something playful and then into that unmistakably cheeky grin of his. “You know what’s a really good painkiller? Endorphins!”

She cocked an eyebrow at him, torn between disbelief and laughter. Was he really...?

Ed wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Yes, he _was_ suggesting…

“I know of something that releases tremendous amounts of endorphins. One could even get high on it.”

She didn’t resist as he pulled her back onto the bed next to him. He let her hand go and a quick flurry of movement later he was on top of her, bracing himself on one elbow next to her shoulder. Although unexpected she reacted immediately to this change of position and opened her legs so he could rest even closer against her.

His free hand trailed through her hair, pushing it out of her face and all the while he stared at her with an intensity as if he committed her face to memory. Or compared his memory of her face with what he found in front of him right now. She wasn’t sure. Maybe he did neither. And a moment later the question lost all importance anyway as he leaned down to kiss her.

This wasn’t like the welcome kiss earlier.

It wasn’t like her slow and gentle promise either.

This kiss was hot and passionate and at the same time cheeky, just like Ed himself. He led her one way and when she reacted to it he surprised her by taking an unexpected turn, like nudging her with his tongue, begging for entrance, but as soon as she opened her lips he didn’t delve inside to explore and plunder, no, he nibbled at her bottom lip with his teeth instead. In the meantime his hand untangled from her hair and went farther down, stroking her side, then down along her leg that she’d instinctively wrapped around his. As it stroked up her thigh again, it pushed between her lace covered flesh and the mattress, just to squeeze her ass.

He broke the kiss.

She was just about to complain as she felt his lips at the side of her jaw, trailing a line of prickling and tickling kisses along her neckline down to her collarbone. “I really missed you.” She barely understood the words he mumbled into her skin and yet they echoed through her, reflecting her own feelings to a tee.

Her hands, formerly caressing his sides, reached up and closed around his face, pulling him back up to her face, so she could kiss him again. Fierce and full of fire. She put it all into that kiss and when she pulled back, he looked deliciously dazed.

“I love you, Ed!”

He smiled and went right back for her lips again. She didn’t complain. At all. He was one hell of a kisser. And he was _hers_. All hers.

She adjusted her leg a little bit – the one that was already wrapped around his thighs – and stroked along his calf with the sole of her foot. Just a gentle touch, seemingly random, but it wasn’t. She knew exactly where his most sensitive areas were and she’d be a fool to not make use of that. After some exploration of his calf she finally went a bit higher and trailed circles across the soft skin of the back of his knee.

His whole body gave a sudden twitch above her and his breath hitched, enough to break their kiss with the remnants of a moan on his lips. She could feel his arousal pressed against the thin barrier of lace between them, now even more prominent than before. His free, roaming hand was back on the mattress now, giving additional support as he just held himself still, eyes closed, mouth open and reveling in her caresses.

It was a beautiful sight.

And yet she couldn’t help thinking that his shoulders and neck didn’t seem to give him much trouble now. She should be annoyed that he had her worried over what seemed to be nothing, but this moment here was too precious for that.

But that didn’t mean she couldn’t have a little bit of revenge on him for it.

And an idea formed into her mind. Just another little change of plans…

As Ed finally shook himself out of his ‘sensory stasis’ he leaned down again to start over where she’d stopped him earlier. His lips kissed and nibbled their way across her collarbone down her breastbone until they met lace in the end.

He looked up at her, a rather comically serious expression on his face. “As much as I love this sexy attire, but right now you’ve got far too much clothes on for my liking.”

She laughed. She couldn’t _not_ laugh at his sober assessment.

Oh, she would give him what he wanted. By not giving him what he wanted.

It was the perfect moment for her little revenge.

Without preamble she pushed him off and rolled them around on the bed until he was lying on his back and she was right on top of him. She sat up, her hands flat on his chest as she took in the surprised expression on his face, that turned into this certain gleam in his eyes that meant that he really, really approved of something.

“And you, mister,” she said, “don’t wear enough!”

In an instant confused wrinkles marred his forehead. “What?”

It was cute, but she ignored it for the moment to lean over until she could reach the nightstand. Opening the drawer proved a bit more difficult, but she managed, and a moment later she straightened up again, a bundle of shimmering black satin in her hand.

Understanding dawned on Ed’s face as she took one of his hands, pulled it up towards the bed frame and tied him to it with one of the satin handcuffs. She made sure that the posture of his arms didn’t put too much strain on his shoulders, but she made also sure that her knots were tight.

“Alright, that’s unexpected, but...” he trailed off. His eyes kept following her every move curiously and definitely interested. By the time she fastened his second hand as well, that gleam in his eyes was back full force. And with it that gorgeous grin, excited and roguish; the one that had got her into many a trouble by following his lead in such moments. “I like it.”

He definitely did, Kelly didn’t doubt it, she felt the now even harder proof pressing up against her. Eager and impatient.

She stroked her hand along his upper arm and over his shoulder as she smirked down at him, her tone all innocent. “Can’t have you hurting yourself even more, now, can we?”

And with that she sat up, reached back and opened her bra. She stripped it off with slow movements, giving him a little bit of a show that he followed intently. The bra fell down next to the bed, quickly forgotten.

His eyes drank her in, roaming her breasts with reverence. And his hands pulled against their restraints. Once. Twice. His fingers moved involuntarily, the way they would were they able to touch. And the excitement slowly drained out of his expression.

“I want to touch you, Kel!”

She shrugged. “Too bad.”

“But… hey, you said you needed me able to move for what you had planned,” he argued. “That’s kind of contradictory here.” He wiggled his hands to emphasize his words.

“You should’ve thought about that before you kept whining about your back that much. The plan’s changed.”

“And what is this new plan of yours?”

“Well,” she placed her hands on his chest and dragged her fingertips down right to his navel with just enough pressure to make him hiss as her blunt nails scraped a bit against his skin. His nipples hardened. “First, you’ll get that dose of homemade painkillers. And then, when you’re back isn’t troubling you anymore, I’m sure we’ll find a way for you to compensate me for my generous offer.”

That grin was back on his face. “You’re devious!”

She smirked back. “And you love it,” she said, rolling her hips a bit, torturously slow of course. He moaned in pleasure and tried to grind up against her, but she moved away.

She only got started.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed this little thing of fluffy (and hopefully sexy) silliness :)


End file.
